The elite Indonesian anti-terror unit Densus 88 has been accused of shooting suspects rather than attempting to arrest them. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

INDONESIA'S police anti-terror squad has killed seven suspected militants in recent days, triggering renewed allegations the force is not trying to take suspects alive - a trend that appears to be fuelling the very extremism the predominantly Muslim country is trying to counter.

Police spokesman Brigadier General Boy Rafli Amar said no shots were fired against officers during three related raids on Friday and Saturday in eastern Indonesia, but the suspects in at least one of the locations had explosives that were "ready" to be detonated.

He said officers from the anti-terror squad, known as Densus 88, had followed procedures because the suspects were endangering their lives, but gave few details.

Haris Azhar, chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, an independent human rights group, said it appeared the suspected militants were victims of "extrajudicial killings" and called for an independent investigation.

"I'm worried about the deteriorating public sympathy for police who continue to use violence," he said, alleging some suspects in the past have been shot in front of their children.

"There has never been any evaluation of Densus's actions. It seems the police brutality has contributed to the growing of terrorism."

Densus 88 was established after the 2002 Bali bombings with American and Australian financial and technical assistance, which it still receives.

It has been instrumental in the arrests of hundreds of militants over the past 10 years and is credited with reducing the threat of further attacks on Western interests in the country. Small groups of militants, however, have continued to attack police officers and Christians.

Since the squad's establishment, Densus officers have killed more than 70 suspects. Like in other countries, some Indonesian militants have blown themselves up when police officers have approached them and show a willingness to go down fighting, making apprehending them especially dangerous. Police figures show militants killed 10 officers in 2012 in incidents around the country.

Taufik Andrie, research director for the Institute for International Peace Building, said it appeared police officers hunting down militants suspected of being involved in the murder of their colleagues were not interested in taking prisoners.

"It is a cycle of violence, with each side looking for revenge," Andrie said. "There is a suspicion that some policemen are of the mind that the best kind of de-radicalisation is through killing people."

The way in which the killings by Densus 88 are used to rally support for extremism was on display yesterday at a public meeting of radicals in Jakarta.

While those present didn't need fresh reasons to despise or distrust the state, speakers held up the killings of the seven suspects as just the latest example of police brutality.

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